Today’s letter – even the Pope could use a lesson in tolerance

April 10, 2008 — signab43

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger –

In preparation for next week’s visit by Pope Benedict XVI, DignityUSA will hold a peaceful rally outside of the United Nations asking the Pope to denounce violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and to end his own language that undermines gay people worldwide.

I would like you to join fair-minded Americans in this peaceful request to the Pope, and also to change your own message that California’s same-sex couples are less worthy of marriage than opposite-sex couples.

One Response to “Today’s letter – even the Pope could use a lesson in tolerance”

When the Pope visits Ground Zero, he will be greeted by a protest vigil honoring the late FDNY chaplain, Father Mychal Judge, the first official casualty of the 9/11 attacks.

Mychal was considered a living saint by many even prior to his heroic death. His extraordinary works of compassion have been compared to Mother Teresa (see http://SaintMychalJudge.blogspot.com )

But ironically, Fr. Mychal Judge would be barred from the priesthood today because he was openly gay, though celibate. He often asked, “Is there so much love in the world that we can afford to discriminate against any kind of love ?!”

We have no illusions that this pope is going to change. Rather, we are bearing witness to two truths — that God created and loves gay people, and that the pope does not speak for the whole Church, the Ecclesia, on these matters.

Indeed, two-thirds of U.S. Catholics-in-the-pews reject the pope’s views and support either civil unions or full marriage rights, according to numerous surveys.

As Fr. Mychal also said, “Don’t let the (institutional) church get in the way of your relationship with God.”